Politics
Local power struggle exposes divisions in Türkiye’s New Party
A power struggle is intensifying within the New Party (YP), with rival factions reportedly seeking to consolidate control over local party organizations ahead of a nationwide congress process.
The YP formally announced its congress schedule last month, setting the stage for district and provincial contests that are expected to determine the party’s organizational structure ahead of future elections.
In several provinces, mayors, provincial party chairs, lawmakers and figures aligned with former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu are reportedly working separately to shape local organizations by backing their preferred candidates. The competition has raised concerns within the party that disputes over local leadership could deepen existing divisions before the organization has fully established itself across the country.
The latest example emerged in Biga, a district of Çanakkale province in western Türkiye.
Cemal Mantar, the founding chair of the YP’s Biga district organization, announced that he would not seek the position again just one month after helping establish the local branch.
Mantar stressed that he was not leaving the party or withdrawing from politics and rejected suggestions that his decision was the result of an internal crisis.
However, local party sources have alleged that Çanakkale Mayor Muharrem Erkek backed Barış Çetin as a candidate to replace Mantar, creating tensions within the district organization. According to the allegations, the dispute prompted Mantar to withdraw his candidacy despite having recently helped establish the party’s local organization.
The episode has fueled concerns that competition over local positions could become one of the first major tests of the YP’s internal cohesion.
The party has already faced a separate controversy in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.
Seydi Ahmet Keleş, a YP member in the province, allegedly attacked Gaziantep lawmaker Melih Meriç with a knife after Meriç declined to support his bid for the district chairmanship. The incident attracted widespread attention and became an early example of the tensions surrounding the party’s local organization.
Membership lists prepared for the congress process have also become a source of dispute. Some individuals reportedly claimed that they had completed the process of joining the party but later could not find their names on the official membership lists.
The allegations have raised concerns that disputes over membership could become intertwined with leadership contests, as the composition of party membership directly affects who is eligible to participate in local congresses and influence the selection of new leadership.
The competition appears to be particularly significant because the YP is still in the process of building its organizational network. Unlike an established political party with long-standing local structures, the new party is attempting to create provincial and district organizations while simultaneously defining its political identity and internal power balance.
The disputes are reportedly not limited to smaller districts. Competition over leadership positions in major cities has also become increasingly tense, according to reports, raising the possibility that some upcoming congresses could take place in a highly contentious atmosphere.
The developments come as the YP seeks to establish itself as a major force in Turkish opposition politics.
In late July, Özgür Özel launched the New Party after being ousted from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) following a court ruling that invalidated the party’s previous congress.
Özel had led the CHP to a historic victory in the 2024 local elections, winning control of several major municipalities, including Istanbul, Ankara and other major urban centers. After the split, he argued that the YP could build on that momentum and develop into a broader political movement.
“The New Party is the first party in Turkish political history to be founded as the main opposition,” Özel said shortly after its establishment. “It is not a splinter party formed by people leaving another party in search of something else. It is actually a party built around an understanding, and around resistance and struggle against the coup that was carried out.”
The launch followed months of turmoil within the CHP, where a leadership dispute between Özel and former party Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu escalated following a court ruling that invalidated the previous party congress.
The ruling, widely described in Turkish political circles as the “absolute nullity” decision, paved the way for Kılıçdaroğlu to return to the party leadership and further intensified the confrontation between the two camps.
Özel’s supporters have accused Kılıçdaroğlu of attempting to undermine the CHP’s prospects of winning the next presidential election under Özel’s leadership, with some of his allies going as far as branding the former chairman a “traitor.”
Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, has continued to challenge Özel and his supporters, deepening the political rupture that eventually contributed to the establishment of the YP.
Özel has sought to present the new party not simply as a breakaway organization but as a political movement capable of attracting voters and members beyond the CHP’s traditional base.
He has said the YP reached 600,000 members shortly after its establishment and predicted that membership would rise to 1 million in a short period.
The party’s ability to translate that rapid growth into a functioning nationwide organization, however, is now facing an early test as local factions compete for influence.
After declaring its dissolution, the terrorist group YPG, once militarily backed by the United States, has started handing over its heavy weapons to the Syrian army.
Syrian troops are receiving weapons in Hassakeh, once a stronghold of the YPG, following a key deal on the group’s integration with the Syrian army.
Among the weapons and equipment handed over to the Syrian army are armored vehicles, tanks, mortars and machine guns. Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Thursday that the army also seized air defense systems that the YPG had looted from some military air bases following the fall of the Baathist regime in 2024.
Damascus and the YPG signed a memorandum on a cease-fire and the group’s gradual integration into the security forces on Jan. 29. Syrian forces recently entered Hassakeh, which had been under YPG control, and took over key institutions, including the governorate and courthouse. On Sept. 1, the Syrian Interior Ministry sent reinforcements to the city to help complete the takeover.
The new administration in Damascus has sought to restore central government control across the country after years of fragmentation during the civil war.
The dissolution of the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, is crucial for Türkiye. Türkiye itself launched the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative aimed at the dissolution of the PKK. The PKK agreed and made a symbolic start to its disarmament process last year. In exchange, Türkiye offered leniency and deferred sentencing for PKK members not involved in acts of terrorism.
A municipal council member from Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was detained on Wednesday in the northwestern province of Edirne over allegations that he demanded 200,000 euros ($232,000) from a contractor in exchange for securing approval of a building permit.
Engin Yağcılar, a member of the Edirne Municipal Council and deputy chair of the CHP group in the council, was taken into custody as part of an investigation led by the Edirne Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities also searched Yağcılar’s home and law office and launched a separate investigation into suspected laundering of assets derived from crime.
The investigation began after a contractor, identified by the initials N.Ö., approached law enforcement authorities on Aug. 23, prosecutors said.
The contractor alleged that Yağcılar contacted him and said he could secure approval for a building permit in exchange for 200,000 euros.
Prosecutors subsequently obtained authorization to monitor Yağcılar’s communications and activities using technical surveillance.
Yağcılar and the contractor met at a mosque in Edirne on Sept. 1, after which authorities detained Yağcılar. Investigators recorded the meeting on video and audio, according to information from the investigation.
Authorities searching Yağcılar’s residence and law office seized four computers, two notebooks and five pages of documents.
Yağcılar invoked his right to remain silent while in police custody.
Prosecutors also opened a separate investigation under Article 282 of the Turkish Penal Code, which covers the laundering of assets derived from criminal activity.
Authorities are examining Yağcılar’s financial and asset transactions, while Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) is expected to prepare a report as part of the investigation.
The latest investigation comes months after Edirne Municipality was implicated in a separate probe involving building permit procedures.
Thirteen suspects, including the municipality’s then-director of zoning and a municipal council member, were detained in February as part of that investigation.
Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday ordered the detention of 22 suspects as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in vehicle rental tenders by the Bolu Municipality, authorities said.
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said judicial proceedings were launched against 23 suspects, including suspended Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, over a municipal tender for the rental of driverless vehicles and construction machinery used in waste collection, transportation and general cleaning services.
Özcan, who is already jailed in connection with a separate case, was not included in the detention orders issued for the other 22 suspects.
Prosecutors said an expert report dated Aug. 25 identified alleged irregularities during the implementation of the contract. Investigators compared vehicle tracking data from Arvento Mobile Systems company with municipal landfill records and monthly work schedules.
The review found that some garbage collection vehicles were recorded as operating on days when they had not actually worked and that payments were made to the contractor based on those records, according to prosecutors.
The expert report estimated that the municipality made TL 34.29 million (about $700,000) in excess and improper payments, including price adjustments and value-added tax, to the MCY-Yeşilçam joint venture in 19 progress payments.
The investigation also covers municipal officials and employees involved in the tender, inspection, acceptance and payment processes, as well as executives of the contractor.
Police and gendarmerie launched simultaneous operations centered in Bolu across seven provinces. Gendarmerie teams also searched the Bolu Municipality building and examined tender documents, payment records and vehicle tracking data.
Prosecutors said the investigation remains underway.
One year to the next election and, amid growing public anger against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, the Mitsotakis government of Greece appears to be gambling away political fortunes with a major deal with Israel. The deal, signed on Monday, is one of the biggest for Israel and will reinforce Greece’s “Achilles Shield” aerial defense system. For Mitsotakis, however, it may be his Achilles’ heel in the 2027 election. A survey released by Pew Research Center in June shows that although the Greek public is still warm toward Israel, only 30% of the nation has a positive opinion of the country after the start of a new round of Palestine-Israel conflict in 2025.
Since 2025, Greece has been the scene of pro-Palestine demonstrations, denouncing genocide in Gaza. Earlier this month, a major protest was held in Piraeus as an Israeli cruise ship docked there. The protest has called on Greece to cease cooperation with Israel, but Athens responded with the 3 billion euros deal on Monday. “The security agreement signed today with Greece, one of the largest in the country’s history, is a direct continuation of the Eastern Mediterranean alliance we forged a decade ago with Greece and (southern) Cyprus. It serves as further proof of the tremendous capabilities of Israel’s defense and technological industries,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “This move expresses Israel’s strength, the confidence in our defense exports, and the strengthening of regional alliances.”
“Deeply ashamed that, despite a sizeable majority of Greeks opposing the genocidal Apartheid state, we have allowed our ruling class to taint Greece through this despicable deal,” Greece’s former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in a social media post on Monday.
Varoufakis’ former party Syriza was also quick to denounce the government over the deal. Syriza said in a statement on Monday that the deal deepens Greece’s defense/military dependence on the “genocidal government of Israel,” “which violates international law.” Syriza said the government portrayed the deal as a triumph, but questions remained over how the country would remain independent in its air defense network. “Is our country really gaining greater strategic autonomy or is it integrating its defenses into the Israeli-American security system?” Syriza asked in its statement.
The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) termed the deal as a “dangerous decision” by the Mitsotakis government, “to accelerate war preparations and deepen the involvement of our country in imperialist wars and plans.”
“Strategic relations with the murderous state of Israel and joint war preparations add fuel to the imperialist plans in the region,” a statement by the party on Monday said.
For Israel, it is an alliance against “shared regional challenges,” as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz put it in a statement. Both countries are at odds with Greece’s neighbor Türkiye, and Katz, without naming Türkiye openly, said Israel and Greece would deepen their defense and strategic cooperation at a time “when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence.” Israel, which repeatedly carried out attacks in Syria since the fall of the Baathist regime in 2024 there, has recently bombed a military base under the pretext of preventing so-called Turkish plans to establish a foothold there.
Adonis Georgiadis, Greece’s health minister, was more blunt in defense of the deal’s target. Georgiadis, who was once denounced as anti-Semitic by Israeli circles, has been a champion of relations with Israel, defining the country as “a true miracle of humanity” in a social media post in May. In response to the opposition’s criticism, Georgiadis was quoted by the Greek media praising the deal. “It secures the freedom of Greece against a Turkish threat,” he was quoted.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye and Russia have brought their relations to an unprecedented level, highlighting deepening cooperation in energy, tourism and agriculture while signaling plans for new nuclear power projects after the Akkuyu plant becomes operational.
“Türkiye-Russia relations are truly at a much more advanced level today than at any previous period,” Erdoğan said during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Erdoğan pointed to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant as one of the flagship projects underpinning bilateral cooperation, saying construction had entered its final stage.
“We are now waiting for the Akkuyu plant to be completed so that we can inaugurate it,” Erdoğan said. He added that Türkiye and Russia were preparing to take further steps toward additional nuclear power plants after Akkuyu begins operations.
Türkiye has previously explored plans for additional nuclear power capacity as part of efforts to diversify its energy mix, reduce dependence on imported fuels and strengthen long-term energy security.
Erdoğan also emphasized the importance of Russian visitors to Türkiye’s tourism industry, particularly in the Mediterranean resort hub of Antalya, where Russians remain among the largest groups of foreign tourists.
He said cooperation between Ankara and Moscow also remained strong in agriculture and energy.
Putin, for his part, described Türkiye as one of Russia’s “privileged partners” in both foreign policy and economic affairs and said major joint projects continued to move forward.
He expressed confidence that the first unit of the Akkuyu plant would be commissioned this year.
“You have set the goal of commissioning the plant’s first unit this year. This will happen,” Putin said.
The Russian president also highlighted growing people-to-people ties, noting that nearly 7 million Russian tourists visited Türkiye last year.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın also attended the meeting.
Turkish authorities detained 10 suspects on Tuesday in an operation targeting the current information technology network of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), prosecutors said.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 13 suspects as part of an investigation into the group’s alleged organizational activities conducted through the encrypted messaging application Signal.
Investigators identified the suspects as allegedly operating within FETÖ’s current IT structure following efforts to decipher communications conducted through the application, according to prosecutors.
Teams from Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Ankara Police Department’s Counterterrorism Branch carried out simultaneous operations on Sept. 1.
Ten of the 13 suspects were detained during the raids, while authorities continued efforts to apprehend the remaining three, prosecutors said.
Findings recently uncovered an alleged matchmaking network operated by members of the FETÖ through the encrypted messaging application Signal. Technical examinations of seized digital materials revealed that the matchmaking system remained active in January and February 2025.
Investigators found that unmarried members, divorcees or individuals whose spouses had died could apply to designated “matchmaking coordinators” within the group to find potential partners.
Authorities further determined that dismissed military personnel and other individuals linked to the group were included in the matchmaking process.
The investigation is part of Türkiye’s continuing operations against FETÖ, which is responsible for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which killed 253 people and injured thousands.
Turkish authorities have continued nationwide investigations into the group’s networks, focusing on its alleged structures within state institutions as well as its financial, educational and communications networks.
Proceedings against the suspects remain underway.
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